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Chapter 9 - The Widow Who Vanished

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Early Morning – CID Bureau – 6:30 AM

Purvi entered the bureau with determination. The moment she sat down, her screen lit up with something unexpected—a signal ping from Ananya Rathi, Vivek Rathi's wife. Her last known phone location had gone dead yesterday. But a new SIM registered on a nearby tower—just long enough for a 6-second call.

Purvi: "Location: Borivali. Industrial zone. She's alive."

ACP Pradyuman (stepping in): "Swami, Daya, Purvi—move now."

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Borivali – 7:15 AM – Abandoned Warehouse

They arrived at a half-burned warehouse in the industrial sector. Metal drums, shattered glass, and rusted doors littered the area.

Swami examined footprints, snapped wires, and disturbed dust.

Swami (analyzing): "There were three men. One limping. They dragged someone. A woman."

A sound—a metal pipe hitting the ground—came from the back room.

Daya and Swami moved in fast.

Inside, Ananya Rathi was tied to a chair, bruised but conscious.

Purvi (gently): "Ma'am… it's okay. You're safe now."

Ananya coughed, then whispered: "My husband… he was never supposed to survive. They hired a double. Cloned the identity. Then sent killers after the real one."

Swami (softly): "Who's they?"

She looked up with fear in her eyes. "His best friend. His business partner, Arjun Menon."

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Rathi Financials – 10:00 AM

CID surrounded the office tower. Arjun Menon, suave in appearance and smiling calmly, was seated in his office. His arrogance dropped when he saw Vivek Rathi—alive.

Arjun (shocked): "No… that's not… this isn't—"

Swami (interrupting): "Not dead. Not erased. Not yours to bury."

They cuffed him before he could speak again.

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CID Bureau – 3:30 PM

Interrogation revealed everything:

Arjun Menon used Vivek's credentials and identity to launder millions through ghost accounts, using biometric manipulation. When Vivek got suspicious, he planned his murder with a corrupt medical lab—using a homeless lookalike, altered to match Vivek's biometrics. But Vivek survived the first attempt. When the 'replacement' was burned in a staged accident, Arjun panicked and targeted the wife to silence her too.

ACP Pradyuman (sternly): "Your greed would've rewritten a man's life. But the story didn't end your way."

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Two Days Later – Quiet Garden behind the Bureau

The case was closed.

The team sat quietly, taking a rare break. Daya and Abhijeet sipped tea. ACP Pradyuman stood beneath a tree, watching two people across the garden path.

Nelakhant Swami and Purvi sat beside each other. Not speaking. Just… being.

Purvi finally spoke.

Purvi (smiling softly): "You know… you scare people sometimes. But I see through it now."

Swami: "To what?"

Purvi: "To the part of you that's still human. That still feels."

He turned, eyes warm for once. "I didn't feel… much before I came here. Kerala was quiet. Logical. Safe. This place? Loud. Chaotic. Alive. And so are you."

There was silence. Not awkward—just full.

Purvi (half-laughing): "You're not proposing, are you?"

Swami (deadpan): "No. That would be illogical. But I did submit a formal request to ACP Sir yesterday for an interdepartmental marriage transfer."

Purvi's mouth dropped.

Purvi: "Wait. What?"

Swami nodded, pulling out a sealed envelope.

Swami: "My parents visited Mumbai quietly last month. Your mother and mine have been exchanging letters for six weeks. They'd like us to consider… an arranged understanding."

Purvi (half-stunned, half-smiling): "You did all this during a double-murder case?"

Swami (gently): "It's what Monk would call balancing the unknown. Sherlock would say it's the only deduction left. And Castle? He'd call it the best plot twist."

She laughed—and didn't say no.

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A Week Later – CID Bureau – 11:00 AM

A short ceremony was held in the CID garden. Simple, beautiful. Just the team, families, and quiet approval from ACP Pradyuman, who placed his hand on Swami's shoulder.

ACP Pradyuman: "You solved cases like a machine. But this… this proves you're not one."

Swami: "She taught me that. I just paid attention."

Daya (whispering to Abhijeet): "You think Purvi married him because of his brain?"

Abhijeet (smirking): "No. She married him because he finally used it for the right reason."

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Next Case Begins:

Case III – Chapter 1: The House That Never Sleeps

A haunted building. A murder that never happened. And Swami's first case… as a married man.

To be continued…

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